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Bruce Dorn

In Relentless Pursuit of Beauty

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A Moving Portrait of Arizona Cowgirl, Holly Bond.

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The moment I laid eyes on this beautiful Beech Staggerwing I KNEW I would turn Jess into a wing-walker. The wings are constructed of spruce and cotton cloth so placing Jess atop the craft was never an option. No problem. We wouldn’t even need smoke & mirrors! Noting that my faithful Ford production truck, The Asp Kicker, had a roofline of about the same height as the Staggerwing, I set out to make a safe rooftop platform. That’s all it took. After positioning the Staggerwing and Ford side-by-side, I composed a dramatic frame of the airplane with enough sky to accommodate the height of the daredevil. Being sensitive to the rapidly setting sun, I quickly cracked off a few frames and then moved my tripod to the right until I had a similar angle of the truck. Safely positioning Jess upon the platform, I encouraged her to “fight the wind!” As always, she delivered. I used layer masking to remove the truck, ground, and landing gear... added some sky, flames, and prop blur and ended up with this. Not sure I’m done playing with this image so let’s call it a work in progress 😎 Top Tip: Once you have a mental picture you’re halfway there. Figure out what you need to get ALL the way there and get it. Photographer: @dorn.bruce Model: @4jessicasimpson Make-Up: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon EOS RP Lens: RF 24-105mm F/4L IS @ 40mm Manual Mode: 1/200, F/11: ISO 200 #sarahonanieimages #canonusa #overlandjournal #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #teamdorn #betherevolution #mentoring #staggerwing #environmentalportraiture #model #beauty #eosrp

First young Jess showed us a fragile flower of film and stage. Then she channeled an adventuresome aviatrix with an eye towards distant horizons. Now we come to our original idea, the one we saved for our last and lowest angled light... “Ladies & Gentlemen! Give it up for the Queen of the Düsseldorf Flying Circus... our Fearless Wing Walker... Mistress Red Sonja!” Photographer: @sarahonanie Model: @4jessicasimpson Make-Up: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon M50 Lens: EF-M 18-150mm IS STM Sunlight Exp: 1/2656, F/4: ISO 200 Shade Exp: 1/320, F/4: ISO 200 BTS Image: @authorjessicamichael #sarahonanieimages #canonusa #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #teamdorn #betherevolution #mentoring #staggerwing #environmentalportraiture #model #beauty #canonm50 #photography

Accepting Gifts. Let’s talk about the importance open-mindedness. At this point in the shoot day we had one more preplanned concept to execute but it wasn’t quite Magic Hour. Faced with finding shade and twiddling our thumbs - or - finding inspiration and making hay, we chose the latter. Recalling my previous attempt to channel Cary Grant in “North by Northwest”, I asked Jess to change into wardrobe appropriate for the sort of gal who doesn’t have to be told twice to RUN!!!! To become a classic damsel in distress. Safely positioning Jess FAR away from the idling Staggerwing, I twisted on a wide angle and framed a dramatic comic-book-style Master Shot. Once satisfied with that shot, I relocated Jess to a safe spot way out in front of the spinning prop. Swapping the wide angle for a long zoom, I went full-tele and walked in-and-out until I could compose a satisfying close-up. Minimal photoshop created the illusion of flight and “voilá!”... we had a nice two-shot sequence we call, “Brucie Hitchcock’s South by Southwest” - a serendipitous movie poster we never planned to create. Top Tip: Have a plan. Shoot the plan. Always stay open-minded and never turn down a gift. Photographer: @dorn.bruce Model: @4jessicasimpson Make-Up: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon EOS RP 1. Lens: RF 24-105mm F/4L IS @ 35mm Manual Mode: 1/125, F/22: ISO 200 2. Lens: EF 100-400 F/4.5-5.6 @ 400mm Manual Mode: 1/80, F/16: ISO 200 #sarahonanieimages #canonusa #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #teamdorn #betherevolution #mentoring #staggerwing #environmentalportraiture #model #beauty #eosrp

When setting out to create a cinematic scene, I always start with a little PIE... 🤪 Preparation. Imagination. Execution. Prepare: Scout for a good location, gather interesting props, and assemble a great team. Ideate: Use imagination and the elements of Step 1 to inspire an intriguing concept. Execute: With a solid concept in mind, create an interesting character. In this instance the availability of a beautiful long-range biplane inspired thoughts of travel into the unknown. Those thoughts, in turn, inspired me to pay homage to the bold and famous female flyers Beryl Markham and Amelia Earhart. Sharing this concept with my model and cosmetics team led to the development of a strong and striking-looking adventuress. Solid prep, an imaginative scenario, and creative execution makes for a fun result. And, seriously - who doesn’t like PIE?!? Follow my feed for more tasty photographic recipes! Photographer: @dorn.bruce Model: @4jessicasimpson Make-Up: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon EOS RP Lens: RF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM Manual Mode: 1/2656, F/4: ISO 200 #canonusa #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #teamdorn #betherevolution #mentoring #staggerwing #adventure #environmentalportraiture #model #beauty #actress #muse

Inspiration GOOD. Plagiarism BAD. I’ve frequently heard other pros casually advise a beginning photographer to “copy the work you like best”. I disagree. Sure, crawl the web for bits of inspiration but don’t be a copycat. That’s plagiarism and it impedes your creative development. To prepare for this next set-up, The Fearless Aviatrix, Jess and I hopped on the web and began to research the early aviators. It took mere minutes to find some amazing old B&W reference imagery so I quickly called a halt to our research. While I like to understand the genre - or era - I’m trying to reference, it’s important to me that my actors and I show up on-set prepared to create, not recreate. Too much research leads to mimicry. ___________________ Sara and I talked a bit about shot blocking — the relative positioning of Camera, Talent, and Background — and I encouraged her to explore specific focal lengths. I worked wherever Sara wasn’t, mostly, but I did peek over her shoulder whenever I thought it would be annoying. Photographers gotta learn to work while distracted, right? 🤪 Top Tip: Appreciate, but don’t replicate, the imagery of others. Follow your instincts, refine your methods, and your vision will sharpen. Photographer: @sarahonanie Photographer: @dorn.bruce BTS Photog: @authorjessicamichael Model: @4jessicasimpson Make-Up: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Sara: Canon M50 EF 70-200mm F/4L IS II USM - Manual Mode Bruce: EOS R RF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM - Manual Mode. #sarahonanieimages #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #teamdorn #betherevolution #eosr #mentoring #aviation #staggerwing #environmentalportraiture #nativeamericanphotographer #beauty #model #canoncps #photography #airplane #canonm50

Preparation, Ideation. Collaboration. For this series Sara and I started with a big sky, empty of everything except possibilities. We then added in a glamorous prop and began our search for an engaging narrative. Let the brainstorming commence! Was this, in fact, a magic carpet — owned by a globetrotting adventuress? Or did this balsa-wood beauty ferry a fearless daredevil over the heartland as part of a Flying Circus? Maybe it did a tamer, more luxurious duty, shuttling a famous 1940’s starlet between her long running Broadway play and the sound-stages of Hollywood. Maybe there was a star-crossed lover... So hard to choose! So we didn’t. We decided to illustrate all three concepts. Armed with these three descriptions, I began a text dialogue with our on-camera talent — something I ALWAYS try to do. Some models “get it” and some don’t. The ones who DO are better described as actresses. Or collaborators. Or.... dance partners! Young Jess combines all three and throws herself into each role, 100%. We began sharing ideas (and reference images) and quickly found common ground. In the process we earned each other’s trust. Very important, this last bit — good dancers always make their partners look great and NEVER step on each other’s toes. It was midday by the time the beautiful biplane staggered over to our location and, as usual for this time of day, the overhead light was far less than optimal. Following my self-imposed rule of trying to shoot undercover in midday sun, we began with “The Star of Stage and Screen — you know her! You love her! — Miss Jessica Simpson!!!!” Good coverage by Sara, don’t you think? Master Shot, Medium Shot, Close-Up. Top Tip: Great images are an alchemists brew of preparation, ideation, and collaboration. Fail to mix in any of these critical ingredients and you won’t make much gold. Photographer: @sarahonanie Model: @4jessicasimpson Make-Up: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon M50 Lens: EF-S 28-150mm @50mm Manual Mode: 1/250, F/5.6: ISO 200 #sarahonanieimages #canonusa #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #teamdorn #betherevolution #mentoring #staggerwing #environmentalportraiture #model #beauty

Finding Treasure. We had successfully captured the car-to-bike shot I had envisioned and were about to send the chopper away when I noticed this fantastic sky. Finding a low angle - and carefully fine-tuning the composition - resulted in a shot that was an unexpected treasure. Remember; plan the shot and execute the shot but never stop searching for more. Treasures are buried everywhere! Top Tip: Wide angle lenses aren’t just for gathering a wide field of information. When used thoughtfully they can add a ton of drama. Try moving in close to an object to exaggerate its scale. Photographer: @dorn.bruce Model: @4jessicasimpson Makeup: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon EOS RP Lens: RF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM @24mm Exposure: 1/640 sec. F/13: ISO 400 #canoncps #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #canonusa #canon #model #biker #photography #environmentalportrait

Finding Inspiration. Day One’s first location, the Gold King Mine, was filled with discarded treasures and inspired the concept, “The Secret Life of an Abandoned Doll.” Day One’s second location, Sedona’s Carousel Rock, featured wind-swept vistas and inspired a wind-blown attitude. We found that attitude in the form of a voluminous parachute dress. The resulting images “worked”, in no small part, because they were built upon inspiring locations. Day Two’s image concepts, one the other hand, were driven by props. The first inspirational prop was this impeccable 1956 Harley Panhead chopper. Customized in the “EasyRider” style of late 1960’s, this bike was something one could easily imagine rolling down Route 66. With that idea in hand it was only a small leap to imagine model Jess as rock singer Janis Joplin, a free spirit en route to perform at Woodstock, circa 1969... The chopper was lashed to a trailer and the trailer hitched to a truck. Low speed towing combined with a longish shutter-speed (and a bit of Radial Blur in Photoshop) provided a satisfying result. Top Tip: Look to locations and props for inspiration when ideating a scene. Photographer: @dorn.bruce Model: @4jessicasimpson Makeup: @makeupbyheatherwilson Hair: @andybiggshair Camera: Canon EOS RP Lens: EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Exposure: 1/64 sec. f/11 ISO 200 #canoncps #canonexploreroflight #teamcanon #canonusa #canon #model #biker #photography #environmentalportrait #woodstock #rockandroll

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